My Daily Schedule

On a Día Corto (in reference to a short day in the school schedule)

5:00 am Wake up (the chicken coop is right outside my window). Lie in bed and try to ignore the fact that the sun is already almost fully up. I can hear my host mom making breakfast in the kitchen. I’m not sure what time she wakes up but it’s always before I do.

5:15 am Finally get out of bed. I’ve probably taken a few intense naps since getting up the first time so now I feel refreshed. Or particularly groggy.

5:20 Go out for a walk. When I first started doing this I intended to run, but I quickly learned running would be impossible. The hills are too steep and the road (yes, there is only one) is covered in rocks and red mud rather than pavement. I say rocks because they are far too large to be considered gravel. Also, when I first started doing this, people were texting my host mom and calling on the radio to see what I was doing and where I was going. In our WT Living and Teaching in Costa Rica Guidebook they warned that your town/family might think you are crazy if you exercise in public. Or at all.

5:50 I have returned to my house drenched in sweat (those hills, I’m telling you!). I finish off with a 10-minute yoga video that I have on my iTunes only because it was a free video of the week at some point in time. It’s pretty legit and I will definitely buy more if I ever get internet access on my own laptop.

6:00 am My host brother is usually in the shower by this point so I eat breakfast which is (always) gallo pinto (a mixture of rice and beans that, unfortunately, doesn’t have any chicken in it, despite its name), a scrambled egg, a cup of coffee, and a few slices of bread or fried plantains. My host mom apparently thinks I am starving because I am constantly being overfed. She will also have put a kettle of water on the stove to boil.

6:20 am I use the water that has been boiled in the kettle to bathe. I refuse to take completely cold showers, no matter how hot it gets. Besides, we don’t actually have a shower, just a faucet really high up in the wall, and it doesn’t get very hot. I’m used to bathing in this method since that’s how I have to do it when I visit most of my relatives in Cameroon.

6:45 am For some reason that I have yet to figure out, it takes me at least 20 minutes to get ready. Once I’m done I usually finish up last minute lesson-planning for the day. I either go to the school and do this in the comedor (essentially the cafeteria that also serves as my classroom) or finish up at home at the kitchen table.

7:00 am School begins. We say a prayer and sing the Costa Rican national anthem. I have yet to learn the words to both of these things.

7:15 am If I’m in the comedor I’m using talking to Jocelyn (a 4^th grader). She is always asking me how to say things in English and I return the favor by having her teach me Spanish. It’s a good trade.

8:40 am I have my first English lesson with the only 6^th grader at the school, Jose David. He’s precious. The school is split into half days with 1^st, 2^nd, and 5^th being there in the morning and 3^rd, 4^th, and 6^th being there in the afternoon. At first I worried about having to teach him alone, but during the lesson a few 3^rd and 4^th graders will start filing in to watch and I usually make them join in. This means I’ll have a few more students to help with modeling and examples when the next class begins.

9:20 am I teach the 3^rd and 4^th graders. This is my biggest class and simultaneously my most interested and quickest students. I’m glad it is working out this way. Sometimes I tend to forget that they don’t understand most of what I say to them. I usually remember to slow down when I see the look of utter confusion on Marilyn’s face. (D;, for those who know). I really ought to take a picture of her doing it. It’s quite hilarious.

10:00 am We wash our hands, say a prayer (that I need to learn), and then eat lunch. It’s usually really good and consists of rice and beans and something else. Paola (the cook) could definitely give all the HUHDS  chefs a run for their money.

10:30 am Another recreo (recess). There are 10-minute recreos between ever other class and 20-minute one at lunch. I’m usually (the only one) still eating at this point. Since coming to Costa Rica I have noticed that I eat incredibly slowly.

10:40 am The 1^st and 2^nd graders start filing in and I have to remind them that class doesn’t start for another 10 minutes. I have to do this every day.

10:50 am I have class with my 1^st and 2^nd graders. They are definitely the cutest bunch with their ages ranging from 6-8-years old. Some of the 6 year-olds don’t even look like they should be able to talk yet, let alone be in school. This is definitely my rowdiest class. It is very difficult to keep their attention without bribing them with candy. I’ve been teaching them the English alphabet for the past few days and I’ve never been so frustrated. A few of them continue to call “A” “F” and “F” “Fee.” We’re getting there though (with the candy/sticker incentive) and I still love them.

12:22 pm I have class with my 3 5^th graders. I usually have to take a breather while I recover from 1^st and 2^nd grade. This class includes my host brother Enrique. They are more enthusiastic than I would expect 5^th graders to be. I am glad for this.

1:10 pm I’m back at the house. I do the yoga video again (because the trainer says stuff about relaxing after work) and then have cafecito (coffee and either bread or fruit).

1:30ish pm I do my Bible study, watch various television shows, sit outside (after spraying down liberally with bug spray), get bitten by tons of mosquitoes (despite the bug spray), try to keep from falling asleep (despite the coffee), eat fruit, take a nap, read a bit.

5:30ish pm Have dinner (rice and beans and various other things like pasta (sometimes)). Again, I get a mountain of food. I’m beginning to think the reason it takes me so long to eat is because I always have so much. I’ve taken to feeding the dog once everyone else has left the table.

6:00pm Watch the Copa Oro (Gold Cup) soccer games with my host brother. I haven’t seen the US in quite some time. I think we’re out.

7:00pm Café Con Aroma de Mujer (I have yet to translate this in a way that makes sense to me) comes on and we all watch it. It seems just as crazy as any American soap Opera.

8:00pm I get ready for bed (which includes doing the yoga video again). It’s taken me quite some time to be able to stay up this late. For some unknown reason as soon as we (volunteers) got to Costa Rica, we all fell into the habit of going to bed early and rising early. It was almost instantaneous. During orientation in Orosi I was going to bed at 7pm. I think waking up so early made me think I had to be in bed by then or I’d be tired all day. On Thursday of that week I realized I was getting over 10 hours of sleep each night.

Repeat.

EDITS: I have since stopped drinking coffee, and—after a few headache filled afternoons spent lying in bed—I feel good about this decision. I’m not sure if the headaches were related, but I’d rather not take chances. I drink juice instead of coffee in the morning and hot chocolate in the afternoon. Fresh (but boiled) cow’s milk isn’t so bad.

I have started serving myself at some meals. This means I now eat less than half as much as I used to. My host mom continues to constantly ask if I’m hungry. Sometimes she’ll give me things even when I say no.

My first graders have gotten A-H down (except for the occasional, Fee)!